Brusa Introduces 750-Volt Versions of Electric Drive Components

Swiss company Brusa Elektronik revealed 750-volt versions of its electric-drive components for use in commercial vehicles and applications that demand extremely high output and performance.

Typical electric cars have battery pack and drivetrain voltage at 300-400 volts and this will likely not change because is fairly optimal. However, sometimes higher voltage is better.

Brusa is saying that heavy-duty vehicles like electric trucks and buses will benefit from higher voltage:

“Same power with less copper.”

Increasing the voltage reduces the currents with the performance remaining the same. Lower currents lead to a reduction of cable thicknesses and bending radii. This will directly result in weight and material savings -especially with commercial vehicles of a certain length such as trucks or busses. For electric cars the 300 to 400-volt range has established itself as the standard. Thanks to the advancement in semiconductor technology, a doubling of operating voltage is unproblematic.”

Brusa’s list of over 10 750-volt components, including traction motors, inverters, DC/DC converters, battery module and chargers, can be found by clicking here.

A higher voltage is indeed reducing wire sizes and loses, but I don’t see that as a benefit that should be limited to trucks and buses. A car could benefit as well from a higher voltage because it allows faster charging as well. With today’s high performance isolation materials, it is perfectly adapted to increase voltage to 2000 or 3000 volts, perhaps even 5000 volts. It directly translates into lower amperages which mean lower copper cost but also lower heating losses and risks. Indeed the overheating risk, in an era of electronically controlled circuits with differentials and other sensors, is far greater than any electrocution risk. Therefore a higher voltage will have a tailwind for the foreseeable future.